Ridgewood, NJ Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Village of Ridgewood Code Chapter 174, Holiday Displays, adopted by Ordinance No. 3432 in 2014, governs nonsecular, unattended, privately funded holiday displays placed on Village property. Section 174-1 restricts such displays to a defined area at Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, near the northwest corner facing East Ridgewood Avenue, and caps every display at no more than 12 feet in height, 12 feet in width, and 12 feet in depth. The permitted display period runs no earlier than November 22 of each year through January 8 of the following year.

Applications must reach the Village Clerk's office no earlier than October 1 and no later than October 31 each year, with all permitting fees, including electrical or structural inspection fees, paid in full before a permit issues. Displays are subject to electrical and structural inspection after erection, and a display that fails inspection must be dismantled or fixed within 48 hours of notice under Section 174-1E. Every applicant must sign a hold-harmless and indemnification agreement, carry $1,000,000 per-occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate liability insurance naming the Village as an additional insured, and keep the display's electrical demand at or under 110 volts and 20 amps.

If two fully compliant applications request the same nonsecular belief in the same year, only one display is approved, with preference to Village residents and to whichever application was submitted first. Section 174-2 requires applications to describe the display's dimensions and materials, the erection and removal dates, any planned ceremony, and a responsible contact person.